Easter 2025 I’m coming to get you!

Brindlebabe

Good luck.

I think planned food shopping has changed my life. It should be taught in schools. Before I did that I wasted soooo much money on takeaways, meals out and one off trips to the coop!

I can't imagine having a kiddy as well as a job and a dog and a mortgage. I honestly don't know how people like you manage it. Life is hard enough without having responsibility for tiny vulnerable people!

Hope it's all going well. Have subscribed and will look forward to seeing how you're getting on.

BB x

Hettyhound

Thanks everyone for the support and good wishes. Just made an overpayment on the mortgage of £200 so bank balance now stands a £1 until midnight and my pay goes in. I’ve done a bit of an assessment for the first third of the year and so far I’ve completely paid off the credit card which was used for a vets bill. Hetty now has only 7 teeth left but is a lot happier; the breed is renowned for bad teeth but it didn’t stop my guilt. Had to use the credit card as the emergency fund was already allocated for the electrician and the builder (new bathroom electrics and loft insulation plus other bits and pieces) but have managed to build that back up to £600. This year to the end of April I’ve also overpaid the mortgage by £364.87. All in all I’m very proud of myself. My house needs a lot of work but I could just keep throwing money at it and never be finished. As it’s warm and dry and the downstairs space is divided as I wanted plus a gorgeous kitchen fitted, which did wipe out my savings pot, I’m leaving it as it is. My son isn’t exactly careful either, lots of jumping around mainly rather than anything destructive, but still.....if I pay off the mortgage and release that extra money each month I could get the house completed in just a few months.

Done my meal plan and shopping list so I’ll take the cash out tomorrow. May will be another tight one as it’s a 5 week month with yet another school holiday to fund, plus childcare provider prices going up too. Hey ho, it’s only money!!!!!!:rotfl:

BachSoon

Welcome! That sounds like a plan :T I have a DS too who I imagine will be a similar ball of energy in a few years :rotfl:

Good luck with your journey, I shall follow with interest

[Deleted User]

Good luck! I'll be following you for inspiration:T

LeighofMar

Welcome. We also have a similar timeline. Hope to be done by 2024 if household stuff would just stop happening . I wish you the best on your journey. It appears you are off to a great start.

Hettyhound

Payday yeah! Meal plan and shopping list for this week done, let’s see how Ald1 pans out tomorrow. Normally spend a lot more the first week of the month to start batch cooking for the freezer, which is very empty at the moment. Fridge is bare apart from some milk for the porridge in the morning and the cupboards resemble those of Old Mother Hubbard but rather they be like that than having money tied up in unused groceries. Now I’m all grown up I can value the skills of budgeting my parents taught me; I’m sure they would have been proud of how I’m managing and I just hope that I can teach my son the same in the coming years.

Hettyhound

Managed to overpay another £200 today. Only managed to do this because of the way payments into my bank fall; it only happens like this once a year so I’ve taken advantage of it. Did the main shop for the month today which came in at £82. This is all the pet food, household and toiletries for the month and the cupboard is now full again. I’ve got just short of 70 left to buy groceries for the rest of the month but the larder is full of staples so that will mainly be for fresh stuff. Got some mince in the slow cooker which should split into 3 lots, made some biscuits and I made bean enchiladas for tea so there is another portion of filling and 4 wraps in the freezer for another day.

Looking forward to another long weekend and I’ve negotiated an early finish on Friday as I had to go to work today for a couple of hours on my none working day. It’s laughingly refered to as my none working day but I do more on my day off than any other day! :rotfl:

beanielou

Good news on extra payment

CathT

That's a great overpayment. We find with utilities etc rising the only spends we can control are our food spends so we try and be as frugal as we can. Staying out of the supermarket as much as possible works for us!

Hettyhound

Yes definitely step away from the 3 for 2 and buy 1 get 1 free; only a bargain if they are on your shopping list! I must admit some of our meals could be described as basic or strange but hey we love a plate of egg and chips with bread and butter to make our own chip butties. We also tend to have a jacket potato once a week; that’s tomorrow’s tea, jacket with tuna followed by banana and yoghurt. Stops our tummies rumbling but wouldn’t win anything on Masterchef